Battling Girlhood

The American tomboy figure has evolved into an icon of modern girlhood and symbol of female empowerment. Battling Girlhood traces the development of the tomboy figure from its origins in nineteenth-century sentimental novels to twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature and film.

From Jo March of Little Women (1868) to Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games (2008), the American tomboy figure has evolved into an icon of modern girlhood and symbol of female empowerment. Battling Girlhood: Sympathy, Social Justice, and the Tomboy Figure in American Literature traces the development of the tomboy figure from its origins in nineteenth-century sentimental novels to twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature and film.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 Tomboys in Rag Alley: Understanding Cap Black and the Sentimental Tradition

2 Teaching Jo: Philanthropy, Education, and the Tomboy Trajectory in Louisa May Alcott's Trilogy

3 Tomboys on the Prairie: Violence, Discipline, and Community in the Little House Series

4 Queer Sentiments: Tomboyism and Familial Belonging in Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding

5 Scout as Social Critic: Sympathetic Alliances in To Kill a Mockingbird

6 Beasts of the Southern Wild: Queer Childhood, Race, and the Dystopian South

Coda